The number one killer of women is heart disease, as you probably already know. This means as a woman, we need to do everything possible to prevent heart disease. This can be very tough, but well worth it.
In the United States one woman dies every minute from a cardiovascular event. Yet coronary heart disease is considered by many as a man’s disease.
Many women are actually unaware that coronary heart disease is the main killer, with their biggest fear usually being breast cancer. Women do appear to develop the heart disease 7-8 years later than men, but, it chances increase greatly in women with age.
- 1 in 4 women in the United States die from heart disease, while 1 in 30 die from breast cancer.
- 23% of women will die within 1-year of having a heart attack.
- Within 6 years of having a heart attack, about 46% of women become disabled with heart failure.
- 2/3 of women who have a heart attack fail to make a full recovery.
The good news is, we can all take the proper steps to prevent heart disease. Working out ONLY 10 minutes per day has shown incredible decreases in heart disease. All you need to do is change your lifestyle in order to reduce your risk.
- Lifestyle changes to help lower blood pressure, including weight control, increased physical activity, alcohol moderation, sodium restriction, increased intake of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eating low-fat dairy products.
- Try to quit smoking by receiving counselling, nicotine replacement, or other forms of smoking cessation therapy, if necessary.
- Minimum of 60-90 minutes of moderate-intensity activity (for example, brisk walking) most days of the week for women who need to lose weight, or sustain weight loss.
- All women should reduce their intake of saturated fats to less than 7% of calories, if possible.
- Eat oily fish at least twice a week, and consider taking a capsule supplement of 850-1000 mg of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) if you already have heart disease. 2-4 grams is recommended for women with high triglycerides.
The first thing we should do as women, is get a physical. Schedule your physical with your primary care physician as soon as possible to test all of your levels. HDL, LDL, Triglycerides, Glucose, and even your hormones. Take my advice, and do this as soon as possible, it could save your life!